My 6 year old had two head CT scans as a baby at 3 months and 6 months. My MIL read an article published in the Lancet that said two or three CT scans increase the cancer risk threefold. My MIL keeps reminding me that we had these done etc. I feel horrible as it is about them. Has anyone else had children with multiple CT scans and has anyone spoken to their pediatrician about this? Right now I am super stressed out about it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for your answers. This is typical behavior for her (fun fun) but I told her last night that we were done discussing this. My oldest needed these CT scans because of a toy malfunction and a fall, I would assume my MIL blames me. They were done during ER visits in different hospitals because for the second we were traveling. I wasn't really told of any risks but you guys are right the pediatricians wanted them, we trusted them and what is done is done. She's a healthy awesome 6 year old. I guess the studies get to me because you do everything to protect them and the CT scans were called for, what if she had bleeding etc.? But then when the scans come back clean then that for me brought in the what ifs. I appreciate the time everyone took to respond.
Tell MIL that you will speak to the child's physician about it but otherwise that she does not need to worry.
Like that will work. :P
I think that if you had CT scans done for a good, solid medical reason and not just because you wanted a pic of kiddo's brain, then you should relax and not let your MIL guilt you with your medical parenting decisions from nearly 6 years ago. Tell her thanks for the info and then drop it. If she continues, ask your husband to tell her to stop it. And, make no mistake ... She NEEDS to stop it.
1. It's done and in the past. You can't change that or control it - let it go.
2. Tell your MIL to NEVER bring it up again. Tell her #1 from above.
3. You didn't have this done just to have it done. Your child needed it. Sometimes you have to weigh the risks and benefits. I"m sure all will be fine. Is your child healthy now? Then move on.
First, does your MIL think your child's doctor is so stupid that he/she would send your child for 2 CT scans that (we'll assume for arguments sake) triple the risk of cancer if the benefits didn't outweigh the risk? If so, she should encourage you to find a new doctor, not guilt trip you about something you did 6 years ago, that you had no way of knowing could harm your child and can do absolutely nothing about now. I'm sorry, but that alone is just wrong. She needs to drop this. Also, I can't imagine any doctor being cavalier about CT scans if they really were that dangerous.
Second, the article says it triples (because that's what threefold means) the risk of cancer. Well, what was your child's risk of cancer to begin with? If he/she has a 2% chance of getting cancer, it's possible he/she now has a 6% chance of getting cancer. That would still mean he/she has a 94% chance of not getting cancer. I really have no idea what the numbers are, but I would bet your child's chances are very, very low.
Bottom line, what good does it do you to worry. You can't go back and change the past. And even if you could, you might not want to. Would your child's doctor have been able to learn the same information without the CT scan. If so, I doubt the scan would have been ordered.
Really, you need to not let this get to you. It's done. You can mention it to your doctor (who will probably tell you the risk is still very low and this was the best medical decision under the circumstances) if it will make you feel better.
If you can tell your MIL, nicely, to please drop it, that would be ideal. Otherwise, just smile and nod.
You do what you have to do at the time.
That's what you say every time she brings it up: We did what we had to do at the time. We will take any future precautions the doctor recommends, but there is no point in second-guessing it now.
(And, BTW, this happens all the time - you can't know in advance what science hasn't yet figured out. How many people here got blistering sunburns as children because our moms didn't know that just one blistering sunburn as a child would more than double our chances of getting skin cancer? I got several blistering sunburns that I remember - and yet, I don't get super stressed out and worry about it all the time. I do take basic precautions, like getting annual skin checks. But there is no point in living in fear.)
Some people really like to worry.
I've had at least 3 CT scans, two MRIs, lots of ultrasounds, Xrays-- and am still here to tell the tale.Chances are, your kid is more likely to be hurt just crossing the street or driving in the car than they are with these scans. We take risks daily that we don't even think twice about and sometimes focus on the minutiae, which is sort of what your MIL is doing. Maybe SHE needs to talk to her doctor so she can better understand this?
I think you have to weigh the benefits of the test against the risks. Some medical conditions dictate the use of diagnostic testing in order to treat the underlying condition properly. If you have a good outcome today, then the tests were warranted and you should be content.
What is done is done. There is no sense in beating yourself up about it. I would kindly suggest to MIL to keep anxiety provoking articles to herself. Hopefully, she would know that you cannot un do medical tests of the past.
I've thought about things and worried about consequences and all it did was make me crazy. My goodness, what a terrible mil she is being!
I think Gidget is right, the risk is still small. For me, I understand that being human comes with risk, life is messy, parents aren't doctors, kids don't come with instructions and statistics are not fate.
All OUR parents did some not so great parenting, we still love them and don't blame them for doing the best they knew how. I don't hate my dad for smoking my whole childhood. That probably increased my chances of many things, including cancer. Oh well. They gave me LIFE! What a gift! They gave me LOVE! I still win!
Change you focus and tell that old Biddie to bug off!
CT scans of the head at a young age increase the cancer risk. Of course the risk isn't huge to begin with. They are to be avoided if at all possible though. Already done? Then no use beating yourself up. There are a lot of things a person can do to fight against cancer, too.
I had 2 done to the head as a young adult and that is a huge, huge regret of mine. So I hear you on the stress. I live a very anti-cancer lifestyle because 1. I am battling the risk I exposed myself to and 2. It makes sense overall to be as healthy as possible.
First of all what's done is done. I am assuming that the CT scans were done for very good reasons. doctors do not send babies for CT scans be ause they think you have nothing better to do. There was, I am sure, a very good reason. I would sit back and catch your breath. Remember he has had them already. Hopefully, he is healthy and thriving. Count your blessings.
Keep in mind, if you read the right study, even the AIR you breathe causes cancer.
I'm not trying to discount your MIL, but if you're really concerned, call your child's doctor and have a chat. That's the only real way to alleviate your fears.
My oldest son had a head CT done at 3 days old ( along with an u/s) and again another at 3 weeks old. The 2nd one I regret....naive about the risks, and a scared worried first time Mom, I followed the Pediatricians instructions. I should have known when the ER staff truly questioned the need behind the CT.
In retrospect, I was upset the doctor recommended it....but the reality is I probably wouldn't not have been put to ease without it either!! Now as an experienced Mom I can see it may not have been 'needed', but in that moment it was the best decision for my lil' guy and that was supported by the Dr too!
When it comes to our children we do the best we can, with the knowledge we are given. Clearly your physicians (as did mine) felt it was needed. There are risks with everything in life. Personally (at least in my situation) these were worth the risks in that moment!
It does make me pause before allowing or authorizing future scans to be done. and it has played a role in declining services that weren't life threatening. It's not a matter of worry or anxiety for us, tho'!!
As it is depending on what the ENT concludes he might be scheduled for another in the few months. I haven't decided what we're going to do yet...but his previous scan will definitely be mentioned.
Truly don't beat yourself up over it. You did the best you could for your child. Tell the MIL you know the risks she doesn't need to keep reminding you. If you feel the need to discuss with your Ped. by all means go for it! I'm pretty sure he'll tell you he's just fine!
I've been there. My son had two falls as a baby. We were first time parents and maybe we could have waited it out but the doctors thought they were warranted so we took their advice. That's why THEY go to medical school. He was 1 month old and 4 months old. He was too little to be able to tell us if something was hurting. I honestly would do it again if the doctor told me we needed to. I read the report you speak of and the increased odds only put the risk at 1 in 10,000 so let's put that into perspective. The odds according to the NIH for dying in a car crash in any give year are between 1 in 4000 and 1 in 8000. The life time risk of dying in a crash is between 1 in 50 and 1 in 100. Those are a lot greater but I bet we all get in a car every day and do not think twice.
My husband works for the NIH and this is what he told me to calm me down after I read an article years back. A CT scan gives some where between 1-3 Msv of radiation. He asked a nuclear medicine friend of his and this is a copy and paste from his email: "The calculated effective dose was 1.35 mSv for ananatomical phantom that modeled a 9 month-old. For two scans, the total would be about 2.7 mSv. To put this in perspective, the annual background radiation level we are all exposed to is 3 mSv. Thus, your son's dose would be less than one year of exposure to background radiation. It should also be noted that no demonstrated effects havebeen noted at exposures below 100 mSv. . I
would think that the risk to your son is minimal, if it is even
measurable."
He had his scans way back in 2007/2008. I hope this puts your mind at ease. I had a friend that didn't have a fall looked at in her infant and she ended up dying. You made the best choice you could have for her safety at the time.
As I understand it, the CT scans they are talking about are only the abdominal scans, NOT the head scans.
Your MIL needs to keep her mouth shut. What the heck is she trying to pull? Is she trying to punish you for what the doctors did 5 1/2 years ago? Tell her to stop it and leave you alone! Tell your husband to tell his mom to stop this really INAPPROPRIATE behavior of hers.
For heaven's sake, all kinds of things happen to us in our lives. If your MIL brought every single possibility up that could happen, she'd be talking non-stop for weeks. Straighten up your backbone and stop feeling horrible. Start telling her that you don't want to hear it anymore.
Fun times! My MIL spent months trying to convince me that my son's medical issue was imaginary.
There are concerns, but the study in the Lancet says "might" impact children based on various factors. There isn't enough data and brain cancer is rare. The average person has less than 1% risk, so even 'triple' would be low risk.
Check out this 3 page article from Scientific American about how it works and what people are doing. Read carefully, as skimming might leave the wrong impression.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-much...
